Impact of the extended version of Technology Acceptance Model on predicting learners’ adoption to synchronous online learning in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Synchronous online learning has played the prime role in controlling the spread of the COVID-19 throughout the world. Despite the technological advancement, the immediate shift towards the synchronous online learning has challenged availability and accessibility to the quality learning due to the over-reliance on the class-room based teaching and learning. Thus, this study focuses on investigating the impact of factors affecting adoption to synchronous online learning amidst the COVID-19 in Sri Lanka. As the consequence, institutions can pay attention on the essential factors to enhance the adoption to synchronous online learning.  In this study, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has extended with the external variable of perceived self-efficacy and tested its impact on all other core constructs of TAM. This study used online questionnaire to collect the data from undergraduates of Sri Lankan state universities. Consequently, the study received 382 valid responses. For the data analysis, IBM SPSS statistics 25 and SmartPLS 4 were used and hypotheses were tested using PLS-SEM. The study has identified five variables namely perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, perceived self-efficacy and behavioral intention to use. Based on the statistical evidence, all the proposed relationships were supported except attitude and perceived usefulness towards behavioral intention to use. Notably, this study has both theoretical and practical implications. To the best of author’s knowledge, this study firstly attempted to investigate the adoption synchronous online learning with the extended version of TAM using PLS-SEM. Most of the previous studies explored the online learning in general. Furthermore, the findings can be used to establish policies to make synchronous online learning more effective, specifically if the any pandemic occurs in future.

Keywords: Synchronous online learning; TAM; Sri Lanka; Adoption to synchronous online learning; Intention to use